EUROPE: United Wagon Co has obtained type approval from the EU Agency for Railways for two types of container wagon, which it says is the ‘first time in modern history’ that Russian-built wagons will operate on 1 435 mm gauge lines in Europe.
Approval for the Sgmmns 40 ft four-axle flat wagons and Sggrs(s) 80ft six-axle articulated wagons produced by UWC’s Tikhvin factory follows production audits and TSI certification testing organised by Czech railway research institute VUZ. Russia’s trade mission in Germany provided administrative support to facilitate the process during Covid-19 travel restrictions.
The Sggrs(s) has a capacity of 108 tonnes and can transport various sizes of container with gross weights of up to 40 tonnes.
The Sgmmns wagons ordered by Laude Smart Intermodal have a capacity of 74·5 tonnes; according to UWC they offer an improved specification compared to similar wagons available on the 1 435 mm gauge market, including a lower tare weight of 15·5 tonnes against 16 tonnes or more.
UWC currently has orders from European countries for more than 1 000 wagons.
‘The approval of the series-produced freight cars by a European regulation authority represents a significant step forward for us both in terms of fulfilling our contracts and as part of the development of UWC’s export strategy’, said Victor Dolgov, Deputy CEO, Production & Supply, on June 2. ‘We have been preparing for this for a long time and we are delighted that our products will be used in Europe.’
